NORMAN M. SASSI, LT, USN

Norman Sassi '54

Date of birth: December 12, 1931

Date of death: July 23, 1959

Age: 27

Lucky Bag

From the 1954 Lucky Bag:

Norman Martin Sassi

Barre, Vermont

Norm, Sass, Sassmoe, Scaramouche—he answers to all—left his O.A.O. and skis in the mountains of Vermont when he wandered down Navy way. He found existence under the Executive Department very much in contrast with fraternity life at Middlebury; in fact, there were no similarities at all. Football weekends did provide him with a few little diversions. Making weight for 150 football was always a struggle. His average game time weight was 154.96 pounds. Norm changed with the seasons—a bag of bones in the fall, a butter ball in winter and spring. With a cigar in one hand and his slide rule in the other Norm breezed his way through academics. His radiant personality and his constant smile will win Sass many friends wherever he goes.

FOOTBALL—4,3. WATER POLO—4,3. SOFTBALL—1. FIELDBALL—3,2,1. VARSITY N CLUB—2,1. FOREIGN LANGUAGES CLUB—4,3,2,1.VARSITY: 150 LB. FOOTBALL—2.

Norman Martin Sassi

Barre, Vermont

Norm, Sass, Sassmoe, Scaramouche—he answers to all—left his O.A.O. and skis in the mountains of Vermont when he wandered down Navy way. He found existence under the Executive Department very much in contrast with fraternity life at Middlebury; in fact, there were no similarities at all. Football weekends did provide him with a few little diversions. Making weight for 150 football was always a struggle. His average game time weight was 154.96 pounds. Norm changed with the seasons—a bag of bones in the fall, a butter ball in winter and spring. With a cigar in one hand and his slide rule in the other Norm breezed his way through academics. His radiant personality and his constant smile will win Sass many friends wherever he goes.

FOOTBALL—4,3. WATER POLO—4,3. SOFTBALL—1. FIELDBALL—3,2,1. VARSITY N CLUB—2,1. FOREIGN LANGUAGES CLUB—4,3,2,1.VARSITY: 150 LB. FOOTBALL—2.

Loss

Norm was lost when his AD-5W Skyraider crashed on July 23, 1959 off the coast of Virginia. (Information from Class of 1954 via email on June 8, 2017.) He was stationed at Naval Air Station Quonset Point, Rhode Island, and operating from USS Valley Forge (CG 45).

Other Information

From VAW 12 Newsletter:

LT Norman Martin Sassi Engine failure or fully deflected rudder jam on cat shot USS Valley Forge 1959. Did his plane make a sharp right turn and stall in? A Norman Michael Sassi, age about 40-45 according to his secretary, who I reached by phone, used to receive our newsletter at Bracken Rd in Montgomery, NY 12549 He is perhaps a nephew or cousin? Norm’s kids were Patricia Jayne b. 10/19/55 & twins Andrea Lynn & Michael Alexander b. 6/29/57. His widow was Beverly. There was no posthumous son. (LTJG Martin Kennedy & AE2 C. A. Batchelor died too.)
LT Norman M. Sassi was a greatly respected pilot. I never heard any criticism of his ability…

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Playing varsity football for all four years at Spaulding High School, Norman was an all-state fullback in the fall of 1948. He was class vice president in his sophomore year and treasurer in his junior year; captain of varsity football in his senior year; winner of a scholastic award for marks above 85 per cent, member of the varsity baseball team, and manager of the basketball team. He and his future wife were both associate editors on the yearbook.
The yearbook wrote: “Norm, our football hero, possesses a magnetic personality. He is continually striving to be a good sportsman and we know he'll be a success in the future.”
In August 1948 he was a second alternate nominee to the Naval Academy. He graduated from high school in 1949.
He received a full, four-year scholarship to Middlebury College, but he only attended for one year. He was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon.
After the Naval Academy, his pre-flight training was completed in Jacksonville, and then he went to Pensacola. In June 1955 he transferred to Corpus Christi for advanced flight training.
In 1957, he was at the Naval base at Atlantic City, New Jersey. He was serving with the All Weather Fighter Squadron 4. On June 29, he was the co-pilot in a propeller-driven Skyraider that developed engine trouble shortly after take-off. He and the pilot ditched the plane in the ocean near the Margate-Longport borderline. They inflated rafts, and they were picked up shortly thereafter.
He married his high school sweetheart Beverly Ann Riddel at the Graniteville Presbyterian Church on June 19, 1954. Their children were: Patricia, age 3, and twins Michael and Andrea, both 2.
His father Mario, who was a restaurant manager, predeceased Norman. His mother was Mary, and his brothers were Bernard and Charles. His mother operated Mario's restaurant in Barre, Vermont.

He has a memory marker in Vermont with the inscription "lost at sea."